Sedentary Way of Life Shortens Life

Sedentary way of life quickens the aging processes in the body, claim scientists at King’s College London. They conducted a study involving 2400 twin pairs. The volunteers filled in the questionnaires involving such questions as periodicity and intensity of physical exercises, and also made blood tests. Regarding the blood test, the scientists were interested in the length of the telomere – the chromosome part serving as body aging indicator.

It was found out, that the respondents spending less than 16 minutes a week on physical exercises (low physical activity) had telomeres shorter by 200 nucleotides compared to that of those spending more than 199 minutes a week. The physical activity directly influences the speed of the body aging. Thus, those living a sedentary life and lazy to exercise on a regular basis grow older 10 years earlier, claim the researchers. And how fast do you age?